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History

The M3 halftrack started development in the 1920's and became the Half-Track M2 as a gun motor carriage. French-built Citroen-Kegresse variants were purchased for trials by the US Military and engineers went to work, melding the hull of a White Scout Car M2 to the Kegresse halftrack suspension. Production ensued in 1941 and halftracks rolled off assembly lines in the thousands. The M2 graduated to the designation of M3 Halftrack as the halftrack became a full-fledged armored personnel carrier. In this way, the M3 effectively replaced the M2. A .50 caliber heavy machine gun was mounted to the cab rooftop (a pulpit mount would later make the M3 the M3A1) and a pintle-mounted .30 caliber light machine gun was stowed in the rear (original M3's did not include the .30 caliber machine gun mount - the M3A1 did however). Original M3's would have the .50 caliber pintle-mounted in the center of the rear quarters. A longer hull and bench seating also was part of the M3 models.

Halftracks came in a multitude of 'looks' as can be seen from the canvas sided rear quarters, to the open top or armor-plated versions. The halftrack chassis was also used for a variety of armament mounts, one which included a shielded anti-aircraft version that wielded quad-fifty caliber heavy machine guns. Seating varied per model from 10-13 occupants. Anti-tank mine racks were often fitted to the sides for operational vehicles.

The US Army began to scale back production of halftrack vehicles by 1944 in favor of fully-tracked vehicles. The British were using American halftracks in the battles raging across North Africa.

The Israeli Army is reported to still utilize the halftrack (albeit refurbished and modernized to some extent) in some limited supplementary roles. Other nations continue to use the American halftrack as a battlefield recovery vehicle. Production of American halftracks numbered 41,170. The halftrack was also shipped to the Soviet Union in large numbers from 1942 onwards through the Lend-Lease Act.